Chennai, October 2017: The Chennai Spine Society organized an annual conference on Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, MISSICON 2017 – a three day conference highlighting the various operative techniques in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery(MISS) and case study presentations. Live surgeries and video demonstrations were done at Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre by eight of the leading experts from all over the world. The conference also covers the entire gamut of MISS.

As part of the conference, five senior and eminent spine surgeons from Tamil Nadu were honoured along with the international faculty Prof. Destandau, the originator of the Destandau technique and Founder President of the World Endoscopic Spine Surgery. A text book on MISS was also released at the inaugural function of the conference. The Chief Guest for the day was Dr. P.V Vijayaraghavan, Vice Chancellor, Sri Ramachandra University.

“Spine health is the most important for every individual and it helps in movement, support, coordination and control. Spine is an important structure in controlling breathing and ambulation. Injuries and various diseases of the spine lead to loss of man days. In the past ,these conditions were treated by open surgery which carried increased risks and morbidity to patients. The advent of MISS has reduced the disability and promoted quicker recovery and early return to work for all such patients,” says Dr K Karthik Kailash, Organising Chairman, MISSICON and Head of Department of Spine Surgery, Sri Ramachandra University.

According to a report by World Health Organization, 5 lakh people suffer from spine problem every year and among this male have higher risk when compared to female. The age group of people suffering from spinal issues is 20- 30 years old in Male and 15-19 years in female while there are cases above 70 years due to ageing. Speaking on the scenario of Endoscopic Spine Surgery or MISS , Dr Kailash, said, “Endoscopic Surgery or more commonly known as the keyhole surgery is where a small incision is required and one that is less traumatic and has a speedy recovery period. In India, there are a lot of MES (Micro Endoscopic Surgeons ) who have specialized in this technique and provide relief to most of the neck and lower back pains.”

Though India is a developing country, it is one of the sought after destinations for spine surgery and treatments. While, cost effectiveness is one factor, the other reasons that attract people from other countries include, quality treatment and care and surgeons with great expertise. MISS/endoscopic surgery is now catching up in India as much as in the western world.

“This platform is to exchange knowledge among the surgeons from all over India and also to discuss on the various techniques involved in an endoscopic spine surgery. We have also released a book on MISS which has been authored and compiled by many reputed surgeons and this will be a referral book for the budding surgeons across the country,” said Dr. Srinivas Rohidos , President, MISSICON 2017.

The MISSICON meeting is the only major meeting in INDIA focused entirely on Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. Other meetings dedicate a lecture or two, even a session to MISS but at the MISSICON Annual Meeting Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery is front, back and centre.

MISS is technology. It may exist only by developing, sharing, presenting new techniques and new tools to an audience willing to go forward and become mainstream.

This year’s annual meeting will be held in Chennai from the 27th to 29th October 2017, featuring two days of presentations, papers, debates and workshops, with a pre conference day dedicated for live surgeries which will showcase the modern techniques of MISS Endoscopic and Instrumentation. The full spectrum of MISS topics will be addressed. In addition, there will be a special session on the role of MISS within the emergence of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.